Korean Job Discussion Forums

[UMPhilthy]

Some of you may know that debate is getting popular in Korea. Students think that they are learning "debate" in their classes but they seem to just learn arguing and opinion giving.

I am looking to share ideas with other debate folks. People teaching debate now, people interested in teaching debate, and people who did debate in the past and can tell me about activities they did as a debater.

Much appreciated.


Long Live DEBATE!

[Bibbitybop]

So, is this teaching debate in English? I assume it is. You should first familiarize yourself, and your students, with the process of debate. Then teach them to research their side of the debate and use that to organize an argument. Teach them the code of conduct in debate, etc. Have you ever taught debate before? If not, get a book and go from there. After the ground rules of the debating process are understood, it's pretty simple from there. I don't know how advanced your students are, but teaching them types of logical fallacies and how to counter them could get a little difficult.

[lover.asian]

[jmbran11]

When I taught debate (to adults) I structured it like collegiate debate in the U.S. I give them a resolution (a statement of opinion that could have be reasonably supported or opposed) and then have an affirmative and negative side. I assign a particular time period for research/planning. The affirmative side speaks first and has a timed period to persuade as to why the resolution should be supported. Then the negative side has a timed period for cross-examination (questioning the speaker). Then the negative side gets the same amount of time to persuade as to why the resolution should be opposed, and the affirmative team cross-examines. Then, each side gets a short period of time to offer rebuttal. The amount of time for the speeches and research depends on the nature of the class. You could also skip the questioning, but I think it's useful. Of course, I don't think this is what Koreans mean when they say "debate". They just mean chatting and giving opinions.

[ddeubel]

I would have the students, once they learn about the basic "decorum" of debating, practice organizing their arguements. They should have atleast 3 points with relevant examples/rhetorical questions which address the topic. Stated concisely and without rambling. This is the essence of debate.

A good activity which I do with students is adv. disadv . I put students in pairs and one is the "angel" and the other the devil's (advocate). They are given a topic and must present it from each side, Yes/ no . Rock paper scissor to see who starts. They have a list from which to chose topics and / or can draw from a hat. PM and I can send you a list but it includes ;

Adv. / Disadv of...

Having a cell phone
renting
owning a pet
staying single
school uniforms
learning a second language while a child
being an only child.
etc.....

Once they get the hang of this, I give them other more "current" topics. Abortion, voting, free trade, investing in...., pollution regulation, conscription etc....

I have on the teaching section of my website, a presentation cloze which provides a skelton/bridge for giving a proper presentation . But it is much the same as the structure for the opening portion of debate. Check it out......

Hope some of this helps.

DD

[pest2]

I spent about 6 months teaching debate to Middle School Students who wanted to get in to "minsa" High School 2 years ago. For our classes, we were specifically preparing for the competition that would determine winners who would be selected to get into Minsa. So, to the OP, can you tell us the reason you are going to teach debate? What are your students like? What is their ability level?

We broke our students up into 4 or 5 student teams. Each team had a name, and the teams didn't change during the time we taught. First, we taught them the rules and procedure of debate: Opening arguments, 1st rebuttal, cross examination, 2nd rebuttal, cross examination, and so on to final speech. They were told about the purpose of each part.

Then, we taught them informal arguments such as red herring, false cause, etc etc

Then we taught them syllogisms such as "If a then b. If b then c. a, so c".

Then we let them try to use it to make real arguments; first we started off with simple ones like, "which color is better? red or blue?"

Later we were doing ones like "should korea have a FTA?"

Then when they did the competition, it turned out to be the case that the judges were more concerned with English language skills than debating skills.. so we would have been better working on debating words and fluency

Anyway, those were my experiences..

[UMPhilthy]

I would like to thank the folks who gave responses.

I should have been a bit less cryptic. I am a former Collegiate National Champion coach. I have extensive experience and I am in Korea to teach debate specifically. I was recently asked on as the coach at Daewon FLHS.

I will stop bragging. I am facing the fun and interesting world of teaching young learners to debate. While my own experiences teaching in the United States range from elementary (4-12 endorsement) to University level, I am facing whole new challenges.

My students struggle with English competency. As one poster commented, our open debates show debate competency but lack fluency in English. I am looking to expand my repertoire of lesson plans and train the 10-12 debate instructors my hagwon hopes to hire in the next six months.

I would love to get lists of topics from folks and previous activities/lesson plans. As far as debate theory and process go, I am beyond my years. However, overcoming the language gap with elementary and middle school kids is harder when someone gathers articles on a topic like democracy.

Thanks all and I appreciate your feedback.

PS PM me if you are looking for a career move into debate with proper experience. I know that the positions are paying at least .5 million won more a month than other English jobs.

[peppero]

Impressive qualifications. May I just ask, which championship was this? The APDA, NPDA or CEDA? Or the NDT? (I'm presuming you're American)

It's always good to get qualified teachers in Korea. Sure beats having to see another backpacker "try his luck" over at some poor hagwon.

[antoniothegreat]

i dont know too much about debate that hasnt been covered here, but unless you really know your class and are sure they are mature, avoid politics, sex, and religion at all costs. these categories too easily end in disaster.

having said that, are there any master debaters here?